'Hostile armed person' reported on UMass Amherst campus

University of Massachusetts Amherst has been put on lockdown amid reports of at least one gunman on campusGoogle

Update: The university has lifted the "shelter in place" order. "Please resume normal activities. Additional information will be provided by UMass email," it said in its latest tweet.

A "hostile armed person" has been reported at a University of Massachusetts Amherst dormitory on 18 February. The university sent an alert to students and staff on campus to shelter in place as police investigate a text sent out shortly before 6pm EST/11pm GMT.

According to UMass Amherst, the suspect is a white male, wearing a dark coloured shirt and a gold chain. The university said there are reports of a second individual involved, who was described as a white male wearing a grey sweatshirt. The first suspect was in Pierpont Hall in the Southwest residence area where a handgun was shown, but not fired, MassLive reported.

According to WCVB, campus officials said there was no known direction of travel for either party. UMass officials said that police had secured a perimeter around Pierpont Hall and the investigation was underway. The university released another warning asking students throughout the university to shelter in place. "'Shelter in place' means stay where you are indoors. Go inside now if you are outside. Close doors," the university said in a Tweet.

A student identified only as Judith on Twitter, shared a video of the alert being blasted through campus.